Just A few years ago, in the Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 defense budget summary, the word "Russia" was mentioned briefly in the context of the new strategic arms treaty. By contrast, in the fiscal 2017 summary, President Obama proposes spending increases for "countering Russian aggression," including the quadrupling, to more than $3 billion, of funds for deploying a persistent Army brigade in central and eastern Europe, with training and prepositioning of combat gear. The shift is late, and the funding only a down payment. But the recognition that Russia has evolved from hoped-for partner to serious threat is welcome. more